Amazon's new GameOn tech enables devs to offer real-world prizes in games
Newly-announced APIs enable in-game competitions on mobile, PC and console
Amazon has announced a new developer tool that allows studios to introduce contests to their titles that yield real-world prizes.
The tech, entitled Amazon GameOn, works across all platforms and boils down to a set of APIs studios can integrate into their games to power competitions for their players.
Prizes can be defined as in-game, such as consumable or virtual currency, but the announcement also refers to real-world items "fulfilled by Amazon" - meaning they can win things from the retail giant's online store.
Physical prizes will only be available to players in the US at launch, but Amazon will no doubt roll this out to wider territories as more studios make use of it.
GameOn will also allow developers to build systems where streamers, YouTubers or even ordinary players will be able to create and organise their own competitions. GamesIndustry.biz has been told real-world prizing will not be available for user-generated tournaments at launch, implying this could be implemented at a later date.
Amazon claims the APIs also help streamline the process of adding leaderboards, leagues, multi-round competitions and various other functions commonly found in competitive multiplayer or esports titles.
The tech is already being used by multiple studios, including Power Rangers: Legacy Wars dev NWay and Gear.Club creator Eden Games. While these are both mobile studios, Amazon says GameOn is equally applicable to PC and console titles.
The company is launching GameOn to all developers today, and it will be free until May 1st so that developers can try it out. After this, there will be a per-user fee for studios.